BANGKOK // An American accused of running a passport-forgery ring in the Thai capital confessed to dismembering, but not murdering, a man found in his freezer, Thai police said on Saturday.
The 63-year-old suspect, who police struggled to identify because of his numerous passports, was arrested a week ago with two other Americans accused of producing fake travel documents.
Police also found guns, drugs and bagged body parts in their freezer. The body parts are believed to be those of a Hungarian national.
Herbert La Fon, described as the gang’s ringleader, allegedly opened fire on police during the raid before the trio was handcuffed and detained.
“He admitted only that he dismembered the body but said he had no involvement in murdering the Hungarian man,” Bangkok’s police chief Sanit Mahathavorn said.
“I cannot disclose the details, but I can say that his testimony was useful. As for (his claim) that the motive of the killing was debt, police are not really convinced by this,” said Mr Sanit.
It was not clear what La Fon’s explanation for possessing or cutting up the corpse was. Police said his story kept changing.
It is also not uncommon for suspects to retract confessions made in Thai police custody, where many have alleged being beaten by officers.
Forensic experts were working to identify the man found in the freezer but said they believed he was Hungarian and middle-aged.
“We don’t know the time of his death because the body had been frozen for a long time,” said Udomsak Hunvichit, head of Chulalongkorn Hospital’s forensic departments. .
The case has gripped the Thai public’s imagination as it provides a glimpse into Bangkok’s underworld, long a haven for foreign criminals and fugitives.
Little is known about the three men other than that La Fon was wanted by the FBI in 1979 on charges of credit card fraud.
The US embassy said American law enforcement agencies were assisting with the case.
Thailand is a hub for a fake documents trade that has helped shield countless criminals and migrants from local and foreign authorities.
In February, Thai police arrested an Iranian man, known as The Doctor, who crafted pristine passports from his home in a Bangkok suburb and sold the documents to thousands around the globe, including gangsters, rebels, refugees and migrant workers.
* Agence France-Presse
